The Parti Quebecois may have a new star candidate in Pierre Karl Peladeau but when it comes to her podium, party leader Pauline Marois is still the boss.

When taking questions Thursday on one of Peladeau’s various ethical conflicts, the PQ leader put her hand on the media baron’s shoulder and gently pushed him aside when he attempted to answer.

“I will answer this,” Marois said in French, while saying something inaudible to Peladeau, who smiled sheepishly as he returned to the line of Parti Quebecois members providing a backdrop to their leader’s press conference.

The pair were asked about Nurun, an IT company owned by Quebecor, which has a number of contracts with the province.

As the controlling shareholder of Quebecor, Peladeau will have a generous amount of ethical conflicts if he is elected. He has said he would refuse to sell his shares, even if asked by the province’s ethics commissioner.

Marois said Peladeau would have no say over contracts as a member of government.

“The contracts which are given to the government are given thanks to a financial administration law which provides rules that frame the granting of those contracts…it’s an administrative process, it’s never, never a political question,” she said.

The Marois push was hardly the only PQ shove Thursday, as the party attempted to move its campaign away from its earlier independence theme.

Both Marois and Peladeau refused to answer several questions on Quebec sovereignty or a referendum on independence.

“We’re here to talk about the economy,” Peladeau said several times.

When asked if he was uncomfortable with the questions on sovereignty, he did not answer.

Marois said she running a campaign to win the election, not a campaign on Quebec’s future.

The change in tone comes after Peladeau’s candidacy for the PQ was welcomed by many as a harbinger for the separation of Quebec.

“Is this the man who will break up Canada?” asks the cover of Macleans Magazine this week over a picture of Peladeau.

Just Wednesday, Marois said that an independent Quebec could keep using the Canadian dollar and would want a seat at the Bank of Canada. She also said an independent Quebec would be borderless.